Last Words
by Simoun Sibylla
Summary: Nadie refuses to be left behind; Ellis takes the lead. A romantic story set near the end of the series. PG-13 for violence. Yuri. Nadie x Ellis


Disclaimer: _El Cazador de la Bruja _and its characters in no way belong to me; I just play with them for fun and no profit.

Rating: PG-13 for violence and death. Contains yuri (Ellis x Nadie).

Spoilers: Set just before the final confrontation with Rosenberg. You've been warned.

**Last Words**

"If you have any last words, say them now."

The same words had left Nadie's lips many times before. They had been a warning to her enemies and a dark joke to allies who knew her ways. Nadie was no witch, but the words were her own peculiar form of magic, her own incantation bringing Death down upon her chosen target.

But those words had never sounded like this before. Each syllable shot through her heart like a bullet shattering glass.

Through the strange aura of blue magic flaring around her body, she could make out Ellis's limp form floating far above her. The young witch, enchanting and enchanted, hung suspended, as though she were caught between the dark history of her spiritual ancestors and the pull of a future where men manipulated their own magic. She was trapped by the ancient magic of this vast, cavernous temple and overwhelmed by the cruel power of Rosenberg.

Tears stung Nadie's eyes as she tightened her grip on her pistol. She had wanted to protect Ellis from this fate, the horror of her origins. She had vowed to guard Ellis from all harm that might befall her; she had promised to do anything in her power to safeguard her happiness. And when Ellis asked her to give up her gun and the bloodstained money it earned her, Nadie acquiesced, knowing that the gun was but a tool—the only weapon Nadie needed was herself. She would protect Ellis with her bare hands—with her life—if necessary.

But now, with the flip of a coin and a firm command, Ellis had requested Nadie's services as a seasoned bounty hunter. Ellis was calling on Nadie's true nature as a dark angel of death to counteract Rosenberg's magic.

And with the worthless copper coin she tossed to Nadie, Ellis offered Nadie her gratitude and her final prayer for her bounty hunter's success and well-being.

It hurt. It hurt more than anything Nadie had felt before. It hurt more than the thousand trials and tribulations she had endured to get to this place. It hurt even more than the heartbreak of seeing the smoldering remains of her village and knowing the names of the souls drifting in the smoke.

But Nadie would carry out her final duty. She would do as Ellis desired. She had followed Ellis here, to the ends of the earth; she would not fail her now.

Ellis smiled at her. "I love you, Nadie."

Nadie sucked in a sharp breath. "Ellis," she said, the hot tears finally spilling over. She could not breathe, let alone speak another word. But she knew that she need not say anything more. Ellis understood.

Nadie squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger, knowing with terrible certainty that the bullet would hit its mark.

And then, with her work complete, Nadie turned the gun upon herself.

The second gunshot sounded like a clap of distant thunder, and Nadie felt a flash of heat deep in her gut. An unbelievable pain raced through her, hot and searing. She gritted her teeth against the pain. She had not taken the easy way out, because there was one more thing she wanted to do.

Covering the gaping wound in her stomach with one hand beneath her poncho, Nadie stumbled up the stone steps towards Ellis's body. The roar of the blood rushing desperately through her veins drowned out all sound, and her eyes saw nothing but the fragile, beautiful girl she had killed.

She would bear this pain, because it was the same pain Ellis had felt. And she would follow Ellis to the other side, because wherever Ellis went, Nadie had to go. That was the way their world worked, now.

The only thing she had to do was to keep her last promise: to never leave Ellis's side.

Nadie reached the top of the stairs, and her weak legs finally gave out beneath her. She fell to her knees. A jarring pain shot through her body. The metallic taste of iron was sharp in her mouth, and a strange, draining chill spread slowly through her limbs.

At last she was close to Ellis again.

There had been a few times in her life when Nadie had wanted to die—and many more times when she nearly did lose her life. But her miserable existence had always been spared, as though the universe thought there was still some goal she needed to reach, some deed she needed to accomplish before she could be released from this world.

But without Ellis, there was nothing left for her here. There was no reason for her to stay. Nadie had to go after her. Death would be far less terrible than the horror of being completely and utterly alone in life again.

The cold sensation spread inward from her limbs, seeping into her chest, deeper and deeper. The pain in her gut became but a dull ache, something irrelevant and unimportant now. Her head felt heavy, and the lights seemed to dim around her. The last thing she saw before her vision failed was Ellis's peaceful face—the same face Nadie had watched over many a night as Ellis slept.

Nadie's eyes fell shut. She felt so cold and tired, with this body heavy as lead. She wanted to sleep, too. After all, her work here was done.

Nadie's dead body toppled over and fell to the ground beside Ellis.

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Nadie lay in bed, half-asleep. She shifted slightly, feeling the warm morning sunlight on her face. She felt so pleasantly drowsy, so comfortable the way she was. For once, her body voiced no complaints—no pain, no hunger, no cold. She was perfectly happy right now; she did not want to wake up.

"Nadie."

With great reluctance, Nadie opened her eyes. But all she could see was a bright, warm, red-tinted light—it was the sun shining through the gauzy red curtains over her bed. She blinked a few times until her vision cleared.

There was nothing there—no bed, no window, no curtains. She was floating in a sea of crimson light.

"Nadie."

Again, that voice. It sounded like it was coming from all directions at once, bringing with it a wave of warmth and affection.

"Nadie!"

No, there was more to it than that—the voice filled her with love. An absolute, infinite love.

Nadie's eyes widened. There was only one explanation. "Who'd have thought heaven really exists," she murmured, awestruck. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. She looked around, wondering if anyone else was here.

But then her body began to feel heavy, as though it remembered that it wasn't meant to be floating in nothingness. Nadie started to drift downward, growing heavier until she was sinking, sinking, sinking ever downward, then falling, rushing dizzyingly away from the light. She clawed futilely at the air, trying to resist being dragged away by the irresistible force sucking her away from the warm, loving glow now far above her.

"No!" she cried out as the light faded. "No!" she screamed again, struggling even as the darkness swallowed her whole.

But then she became aware of something wrapped around her, holding her tight and keeping her from floating back up to the light. She abruptly realized she had a physical body again, full of sensation. Something—someone—was pressed tightly against her, embracing her in the absolute darkness. Beneath her, she felt a hard, uncomfortable surface. A shiver ran over her, raising goosebumps on her skin and shocking her body back into full consciousness. Her lungs sucked in a painful gulp of air as they remembered how to breathe.

She was alive.

With great effort, Nadie raised a weak, trembling hand to embrace her savior.

She had followed Ellis to hell—and back.

Ellis had not left her behind, either.

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They left Rosenberg's body in the dirt where it fell. Nadie hoped the vultures and scavengers of the desert would feast upon it—it would be the first good thing the man had ever done for anyone.

Ellis stared at the dead man for a long moment, then turned back to Nadie. "Let's go back." Her voice shook slightly, but her eyes were as cool and distant as the deep blue desert sky.

Feeling like all her words were stuck somewhere in the back of her throat, Nadie merely nodded.

They made their way back to the village, where they found Ricardo and the others waiting for them in the plaza. Ricardo tugged at his hat and looked down at the ground while Ellis and Lirio fell into each other's arms. Jody stared at Nadie for a moment, hesitating, but then she threw her arms about her, hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad you're both alright," whispered Jody.

"We made it," Nadie replied. She pulled away from Jody and surveyed the rag-tag group. "Thank you, everyone," she said, feeling choked up again. No words could encompass the gratitude she felt for these people.

"Nadie," murmured Ricardo, his voice a little rougher than usual. Lirio grinned up at her from beneath her cowboy hat.

"It's done," said Ellis, and everyone turned to look at her. She crouched down to look Lirio straight in the eye and placed her hands on the tiny girl's shoulders. Lirio beamed at her.

"What will you do now?" asked Jody.

"I don't know," said Ellis. She straightened up, taking one of Lirio's small hands in hers.

"Let's return to the hotel for now," suggested Ricardo, grasping Lirio's other hand. "It's been a long day." Lirio smiled nodded, and Nadie couldn't help but smile seeing how pleased the pig-tailed girl was to have both of her favorite people safely back beside her.

She couldn't believe they had all survived. It seemed so utterly impossible, after all they had suffered. They had come too close to losing everything they had gained. But somehow they had emerged victorious from the battlefield.

"Nadie!"

She blinked at the sound of her name and realized the others had already started walking ahead of her.

"Planning to sleep under the stars again tonight?" called Ricardo.

"N-no!" she stammered and hurried to catch up with them.

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Back in their hotel room, Nadie and Ellis silently prepared for bed. There were no words for everything that had happened. And Nadie still wasn't entirely sure what exactly had happened.

But she knew one thing for certain: they were free now. Ellis was free of Rosenberg's machinations, free of the haunting burden of the ancient witches, free of the guilt and doubt that had plagued her for so long.

And because Ellis was free, Nadie's spirit rejoiced. They had escaped the past, together. The future was theirs for the taking.

Finally, seeing Ellis wander out from the bathroom after brushing her teeth, Nadie spoke up. "Shall we hit the sack?"

Ellis nodded. "Yes, sir!" She let out a yawn.

Nadie smiled at her and pulled back the covers on the bed. Ellis climbed in carefully, and Nadie gently tucked the blanket around her. Ellis snuggled into the sheets, her lashes fluttering as her eyes drifted shut. Nadie gazed down at her for a moment, then started to move to the chair by the window, where she intended to sleep sitting up as she always did. But then she hesitated and stopped to look back at Ellis. A few hours ago—a lifetime ago—she had seen Ellis's eyes close just like this. She had watched Ellis slip into a fatal sleep on the cold, hard floor of that secret cavern, believing that they would both rest eternally.

"Ellis," she whispered, almost inaudibly, as she reached out a trembling hand to brush Ellis's soft cheek. Her skin was warm.

"Nadie, sleep here," commanded Ellis without even opening her eyes.

Nadie's fingers pulled back. "But—" She wanted to guard their room as she always did.

Ellis opened her eyes and lifted the covers slightly. "Here." Her brows furrowed stubbornly, and Nadie realized that Ellis would tolerate no protest. "Not in the chair. Not tonight."

"Yes, sir!" Nadie said with a light laugh that belied the rush of emotion she barely kept at bay. Ellis scooted out of the way to make room as Nadie slid into bed beside her. Nadie pulled up the covers a bit, then turned back to turn off the bedside lamp. As she reached for the light, her eyes fell upon her gleaming gun on the nightstand, and a chill ran over her.

But then she turned off the lamp and turned back to Ellis.

She settled back against the headboard, unable to break the old habit of sleeping sitting up. Suddenly she felt Ellis's slender arms wrap around her waist.

"Nadie," said Ellis, sounding almost tearful in the dark. "Thank you!"

Nadie blinked in the darkness and put an arm around Ellis's narrow shoulders. "That's my line, Ellis," she joked, but her heart felt like it might burst.

Ellis's arms tightened slightly around her. After a moment, she asked, "Were you—scared?"

"Only when I thought that you were trying to go somewhere without me."

"Me, too," Ellis replied softly. "I woke up and you were almost gone—"

Nadie smoothed a hand over Ellis's hair. "You don't have to talk about it," she said, soothingly. "Everything's alright now." They would have to discuss what happened, someday, but not tonight, not in the dark, not when everything was so fresh in their minds.

Ellis fell silent for a while, but then she shifted a little before finally sitting all the way up in bed. In the dim moonlight spilling through the tattered curtains over the windows, Nadie could see Ellis's face close to hers, peering up at her through the darkness.

"D'you remember what I said?" Ellis asked earnestly. "At the very end?" Her eyes glinted with an almost otherworldly beauty.

Nadie felt a stinging in her eyes. She nodded.

"I love you, Nadie."

And then Ellis's delicate fingertips brushed Nadie's face, and something soft and warm pressed briefly against her lips.

"Ellis!" gasped Nadie, startled.

"It's like we're a happy married couple," said Ellis with a hint of a devious smile on her face.

The familiar words brought a blush to Nadie's cheeks and a flood of memories to her mind—memories of their long days on the road, their moments of joy and sadness, their chance meetings and near misses en route to Wiñay Marka. Somewhere along the way, Ellis had become dearer to Nadie than anyone else in the world. Somewhere on their endless journey, they had found unexpected happiness with each other.

Overcome with emotion, Nadie swept Ellis into her arms, pulling her as close as she could, so close she could feel the delicate shape of the girl's body and feel her breath against her neck. Ellis was small, but not weak; she was stronger than Nadie had ever been. And her presence was so warm, so endlessly comforting.

Ellis had given her a new life, and now Nadie silently vowed to spend every precious moment protecting their hard-won happiness.

"Don't ever try to leave me alone again, you hear?" scolded Nadie, fully aware that her tone was anything but harsh. "We're a couple, after all," she added, almost mumbling in her embarrassment, but as she said the words aloud, she felt a joy fill her like she had never known before. They were a couple. They had been a couple. They would always be a couple. Nadie had no doubt about that at this moment.

Ellis laughed—a delightful, charming sound. "Yes, sir!"

"I love you, Ellis."

"I know," she giggled, pulling away from Nadie a little and moving up so that they were eye to eye. She twined her hands behind Nadie's neck, tangling her fingers slightly in the long waves of her red hair. She brought her lips dangerously close to Nadie's mouth and said, "If you have any last words, say them now."

Nadie found herself speechless—and breathless—yet again. So she simply cupped Ellis's face in her hands, closed her eyes, and leaned in to kiss her.


End file.
